The Cavern
Rock & Words
PLACEBO
“This one world vision
Turns us in to compromise
What good's religion
When it's each other we despise
Damn the government
Damn their killing
Damn their lies”
“D”
Main Decade: 00's
Main Eras:
Brit Rock (1991-???)
Key Members:
Brian Molko – Vocalist and Guitar/Piano
Stefan Olsdal – Bass
Steve Hewitt – Drums
Key Songs:
Special K, Peeping Tom, Every You Every Me, Special Needs, Pure Morning, English Summer Rain, I Know, Sleeping With Ghosts, Without You I'm Nothing, The Bitter End, Nancy Boy, Where Is My Mind, Taste In Men, Come Home, I Feel You, Meds, Holocaust, Broken Promise.
Placebo was one of those underground bands that just kept growing and growing, and without us even realizing it, slowly, with that characteristic style and image, they filtered through until they became one of the defining bands of the turn of the millennium. Back then, they had a very basic style, but it sounded incredibly cool, futuristic, with a post-apocalyptic touch, and I hoped that the rest of the bands would start evolving in a similar way. For me, that's what the new century should sound like. However, you can't really say that Placebo is an album band. I really like Black Market Music and Sleeping With Ghosts, but I still don't know if either of them is strong and complete enough to reach a 10. Placebo is more of a song band. I discovered them through the video for "Pure Morning," and I remember thinking that the suicidal girl singing had a very peculiar voice. I also remember thinking that she wasn't pretty, but not ugly either… OMG! I think the next thing I remember about them is that layer of guitars that opened one of the iconic films of '99, Cruel Intentions. It was "Every Me, Every You." And so, in the transition to the new millennium, one by one, the incisive, repetitive riffs arrived, but with that characteristic spark of genius, so that Placebo went almost without us noticing from an underground band to one headlining festivals and having one of the most distinctive sounds of the early 2000s.
What is that sound? Nope. It can't be defined. It's a fascinating mix of post-punk, electronic, garage, gothic, industrial, Britpop… Influences ranging from Bowie, PJ Harvey, Joy Division, Nine Inch Nails, Pixies, The Cure, Sonic Youth… resulting in thick layers of guitar with textured repetitions of the riffs upon which the songs are built, a deep bass, almost industrial drums, gray, pessimistic atmospheres, lyrics that portray Molko's various demons and reflect the Y2K generation, and a melancholic, genderless voice.
The band currently consists of Belgian Brian Molko, Swede Stefan Olsdal, and American Steve Forrest. Interestingly, they're always from three different nationalities, since the previous drummers were British. And well, it's worth adding, since although it's not absolutely relevant to the music, it is relevant to Placebo's distinctive image: their sexualities, which they also used, in a way, as a marketing tool. Molko's bisexuality, Olsdal's open homosexuality, and the fact that all three drummers have been heterosexual, undoubtedly make this the most diverse three-piece band in history. Despite their different backgrounds, the band is considered British because they are based there.
In the early 1990s, Brian Molko and Stephan Olsdal attended the same school in Luxembourg, but although they must have seen each other more than once, they never spoke. Stephan was supposedly one of the popular students, while Brian was short, thin, and shy, constantly bullied. At 17, Brian decided to leave Luxembourg behind and start a new life in London, where he studied drama at Goldsmiths College. Stephan, meanwhile, returned to Sweden with his parents.
By a twist of fate, the two boys would meet again in 1994 on the London Underground. Olsdal was taking guitar lessons and carried one on his back. Brian struck up a conversation with him and invited him to see him play a local gig. That evening, they arranged to meet up for Molko's performance and ended up chatting and having drinks afterward. They realized they had more in common than they ever imagined (haha), so Brian and Stefan decided to form a band. Initially, the band was called Ashtray Heart, like the awful song "Ashtray" from Battle for the Sun, but they later adopted the name Placebo because it sounded cooler and had Latin roots, coming from "placer" (pleasure). Even though they had the core of the band, they struggled to find a drummer. No one clicked with them until Steve Hewitt managed to stay for a while. However, Steve had another band, Breed, which he considered his priority. Steve participated in the first demos, but at the end of the year he ended up prioritizing his other band and his place was taken by a Swedish drummer named Robert Schultzberg, with whom Stefan had already played.
Placebo's stage debut was in January 1995 at London's Rock Garden, and in October of the same year, they recorded their first song, "Bruise Pristine," for the independent label Fierce Panda. In January 1996, they created their own record label, Elevator Music, with a special contract with Hut Recordings, a subsidiary of Virgin. Around this time, they had the incredible luck of being impressed by David Bowie himself after hearing one of their demos, and he began to mentor them. They opened for him on his 1996 European tour, where they learned his stagecraft. They also opened for U2 on part of the PopMart European leg of their tour.
During the spring of 1996, they recorded their first album in Dublin, with Brad Wood as producer. The self-titled album was released on July 16th, in the midst of the Britpop craze, and went gold in the UK, reaching number 5, their highest chart position to date. The album's lead single was "Nancy Boy."
Around that time, Steve Hewitt rejoined the band permanently, following Robert Schultzberg's departure due to disagreements with the other two members. These issues had been brewing for months, but they had agreed to finish recording the first album and completing the promotional tour. The band achieved moderate success in the UK, but, unsurprisingly, we heard little to nothing from them across the Atlantic.
Their second album, Without You I'm Nothing, was released in 1998. The first single, "Pure Morning," was nominated for a Brit Award in 1999, and its music video, featuring Brian in an androgynous style about to jump off a building (the video that introduced me to them), went viral worldwide. The album sold several million copies worldwide and was chosen as one of the best of the year in the UK.
One of their most iconic early performances was at Madison Square Garden in New York, participating in David Bowie's 50th birthday party, where they shared the stage with other bands that were friends of the Chameleon. As a thank you, Bowie joined them at the Brit Awards to perform T. Rex's "Twentieth Century Boy," which the trio had recorded for the soundtrack of the film Velvet Goldmine.
At the end of 2000, they released their third album, Black Market Music. On this album, they continued to play with a kind of sexual ambiguity and constant provocation. "Special K," perhaps their most emblematic song, is a reference to ketamine. A darker album, further removed from Brit Rock, denser and more personal, in which the band began to show their maturity. By this time, Placebo was one of the most powerful bands on the planet. After the massive tour, the trio went their separate ways for a long break, although Brian didn't get much rest and continued working on some collaborations and personal projects.
In early 2003, "The Bitter End," the powerful first single from their fourth album, Sleeping With Ghosts, began to receive airplay. On this album, they took a turn, adding electronic elements that weren't entirely well-received by longtime fans. However, in my opinion, it maintains almost the same level of quality as its predecessor. Later that year, around October, they released an album called Covers, a compilation of covers, most of which had been released as B-sides. Placebo's covers are characterized by a significant deconstruction and reconstruction of the songs, which don't lose their original essence, but the trio's skillful touch is evident, to the point that many sound as if Molko himself had written them.
In March 2006, their next album, Meds, was released, featuring guest appearances by Michael Stipe of R.E.M. and VV, the vocalist of The Kills. Despite the collaborations, on this album the trio began to sound tired and repetitive, no longer able to reinvent themselves or escape their increasingly pop-oriented sound. The album was leaked, and the band and Virgin Records blamed the leak for the low sales, although the truth was that a significant creative decline was already evident. In 2007, Hewitt left the band after 10 years. The drums were taken over by Californian Steve Forrest, who had previously played in Evaline.
Battle for the Sun is Placebo's sixth studio album, released on June 8, 2009. It was recorded in Toronto, produced by Dave Bottrill (Tool), and mixed by Alan Moulder (My Bloody Valentine, Nine Inch Nails). Despite the impressive team behind them, the result is disastrous. There is no noticeable chemistry with the new drummer, who was only 22 years old. Brian Molko himself describes the album as "very strong pop that breaks away from the rock of their early years, with lyrics that invoke a fulfilling life and a desire to leave behind past vices." In other words, thanks for trying to change, but they abandoned exactly everything that made them good 10 years ago! It shows Placebo losing their essence, and you only need to listen to "Ashtray Can" to realize that something is wrong. Very wrong.
As I write this introduction, Placebo is just over a month away from releasing their next album, tentatively titled Loud Like Love, which they are trying to protect jealously to avoid leaks. The title alone gives me a bad feeling, but we'll have to give them the benefit of the doubt and see if they return to their roots or if this controversial trio, who once represented the cutting edge of sound, falls back into easy, insubstantial pop.
In short, they're not a band that has set a precedent. They didn't really create anything groundbreaking, but rather a blend of genres that another band can hardly replicate. They weren't exactly original in the sense of creating something from scratch; they simply achieved a combination that was spectacular at the time. This was both a strength and a weakness, as they haven't been able to reinvent themselves or escape that sound, and when they have tried, they've taken the easy, and ultimately wrong, route. Something similar to what sadly happened to Muse. But unlike Muse, they didn't release an album that was a groundbreaking statement like Origin of Symmetry, or anything close to it. I don't think they're a band known for their albums, but that doesn't diminish the fact that they have great, truly great songs that defined and became the soundtrack of the late 90s and early 2000s. Just look at the extensive tracklist at the beginning of this introduction. Songs that are enormous in their intensity, power, and simplicity.
They once proved they could create powerful songs with an inimitable sound. Let's hope they return to that and don't just give us a sugar pill to distract us. In other words, let's hope they bring back Placebo, with a capital P, and not a cheap, empty placebo that only bears the name on the outside, trying to impress and have an effect...
By Corvan
Aug/1/2013
